The Desert King and the Spider Queen
by FortuneHost
Summary: [Oneshot] Ganondorf seeks the allegiance of the dark being known as Gohma.


A long journey had at last found Ganondorf at its end; a cold warren of rock and perished wood where webs clung to every surface and stone. The walls were riddled with holes and burrows, no doubt the harbor of things most foul… Spider-like creatures swarmed the floor, crawling everywhere. Normally he would pay them no heed but given his mission he thought it prudent to avoid crushing any beneath his boots, challenging though this was. He managed, however, and soon stood in a spacious chamber lit only by eerie luminous fungi.

He heard the movement of a great bulk, and saw, crawling from a massive tunnel, a creature drawn from the nightmares of all who fear many-legged vermin. A cyclopean insectoid two stories tall, clad in bone-like chitin coloured the dark umber of rotting oak with undertones of a putrid green. Broad, almost hoofed, feet tipped two legs thick as great tree trunks, supporting a body dominated by a glowing eye of vivid orange and yellow. Across the creature's back were crab claws of tremendous size, and trailing behind; a tube-like tail being used as a tertiary limb. Tiny insects and spiders crawled out from 'neath its armoured plates, joints, and pores; her flesh host to a writhing hive. A truly sickening beast, one that most would find unspeakable, but Ganondorf had learned its name from combing ancient scrolls and moldy tomes.

Queen Gohma, last of the great _Cirithunc_ _ō_ _l_ , fell spirits of corruption and decay who plagued the forests of the ancient world. She was a survivor of the Spider Wars of elder days, when the ancestors of the Kokiri nearly succeeded in ridding the world of her filthy kindred. Though this conflict long ago ended, her heart remained full of hatred for the Children of the Forest… her rancor would serve Ganondorf's design perfectly.

The arachnid spoke, her voice a strange blend of maternal and malicious, as if her words contained both the honey and the sting of bees.

"Long has it been since any mortal has been so unfortunate to find themselves in my lair. It is always such a rare treat to taste red meat in my teeth. Before I do though, know that I am not without manners or mercy; I shall hear your final words."

Ganondorf allowed himself an arrogant smirk. "You will not feed on me, monster, though you will indeed hear my words."

Gohma laughed, a phlegmy cackle that sent foul mucus flying across the cavern.

"At least you will not die a coward. Rejoice my children, for the flesh of the brave is the sweetest of delicacies… an age it has been since I feasted on a stout heart."

She rushed forward with jaws open wide, charging towards the King of the Gerudo. Though her speed was great, Ganondorf sidestepped it with ease and used his magic to merge with the stygian shadows of the cave. A confused Gohma looked all around the room, her vision twitching from one view to the next in hopes of finding this clever morsel.

"Who do you think yourself?!" she said, all trace of the matron gone from her speech, only evil expressed in shouts remained. "You are but a lowly mortal, and _ceirudo_ at that, a desert thief! What hope do you have of triumph here?! You slink in shadow, do you not realize the darkness is **MY** domain?!"

Ganondorf heard the chittering and squealing of a thousand mandibles, and the sickening sound of writhing slimy carapaces. The creature continued her ranting as a horde of her vile progeny joined the search for him.

"You step into _my_ realm, to dare seek audience with ME?! You think yourself mighty? You think yourself somehow worthy to stand in the presence of a such a being as I?"

He emerged briefly to recuperate from the spell. Once she caught sight of him, her massive foot fell like a stone pillar, trying to crush him under chitinous tread.

"I AM QUEEN GOHMA, Elder Spirit, a Duchess of Hell whose mere _breath_ withers all life before her! I am the black mother of a thousand young, my fangs harbor an ocean of venom that will rot the roots of the very earth!"

As if to prove her boast, she vomited a stream of acid that missed Ganondorf to sear and burn the very rock of her lair. His power recovered, the cruel desert magician hid, disappearing into the darkness.

"You who rules over a land of dust and a kingdom of vagrants; you think yourself equal to the Empress of the Unholy Swarms?! **NO!** Yours is a crown of rusting pig-iron, and I name thee _Beggar-King!"_

She could not find the Gerudo… she had to admit to herself (but certainly not aloud) that he had a measure of skill for a mortal. She'd not had such wily prey for uncounted years. She and her children would eat well tonight, grow fat on his sorcerous flesh.

"It is not contest that brings me here, mighty spirit."

Where was his voice coming from? It was as if the shadows she claimed had betrayed her to safeguard this insolent creature.

"THEN WHAT DREW YOU HERE, GODSPAWN?!" she shouted, her jaundiced eye darting over every rock and corner.

"I seek to strike a bargain, Mistress of the Squirming Hordes. We share a foe, and I believe both our ends could be served by alliance."

"You presume much… speak quickly, before I tire of your tricks and my poison scalds your very bones. What foe could you and I possibly share?"

"The Great Deku Tree."

A great hiss, and the sorcerer felt his ears protest the horrendous noise as the creature cursed and spit at the name. Gohma's fangs and mandibles drooled black bile as she spoke with pure hatred.

"Once he was called Aurvandil, in ages long gone, and he has been my sworn enemy since the First Dawn."

"He and his people killed yours, you can have your vengeance, for your slain children."

"I shed no tears for my brood-legions of old. They were but the means to my ancient end; the death of the traitor spirit and his little _pets_ , the Cocýry. You claim to be able to deliver final victory?"

"Yes, you will find that I command great magic, and I can slip you past the Great Tree's mystic defenses, close enough to deliver your final strike."

"What do _you_ gain from this, Beggar-King?"

"The tree holds a gem of power I seek to possess. Tear him branch from branch, that no splinter remains, but leave the Kokiri Emerald. Once it is mine, I will leave dominion of the ancient deep forests to you."

"Should you speak truth and not simply arrogant bluster then I will accept these terms, for I have no use for the stone. All I want is the death, the permanent death, of Aurvandil. I will turn his _manarin_ to _durin_ , he shall be no more! When he is gone, I shall sink my teeth into his little children. I will drink the light from every one of those half-breeds myself! We have an accord, man of the desert."

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 _ _Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed. This short piece is intended as a preview for a much larger tale that I am currently working on; a Link/Saria romance and adventure story. Hopefully this piqued your interest for that final product, which I am hoping to complete by mid-2018.__

 _ _I will not upload this story until I am fully finished with it, at which point I will post the chapters in weekly intervals. Unless a more viable alternative can be suggested, I will keep interested parties apprised of developments via monthly status updates on my profile.__

 _ _In the interim, feel free to message me on this site, as I ever welcome comments, feedback, or even simply conversation.__ _  
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PRONOUNCIATIONS & TRANSLATIONS  
All words here from _Aonyona_ , a constructed language of my own design.

Aonyona /ah-oh-nee-oh-nah/  
The language of fairies, forest spirits, and the ancient Cocýry.

Cocýry /koh-kear-ee/ _(The ea here represents the EA in "ear.")_  
Ancestors to the modern Kokiri. A fair and graceful folk whose days of glory are far behind. It is said the first Cocýry were children born from the union of angels and fairies.

Cirithuncōl /kir-ith-oon-koal/ _(The oa here represents the OA in "coal.")_  
"Towering spider" or "giant insect."  
They were the sworn enemies of the Deku Trees. Both races are now all but extinct due to the Spider Wars.

ceirudo /keh-ir-oo-doh/  
The Aonyona mutation of "Gerudo."  
 _* A "C" because Aonyona does not utilize the "G" sound._

Aurvandil /ah-oor-vahn-dil/  
The Great Deku Tree's name in youth.

manarin /mahn-ah-rin/  
 **Verb tense** , past-eternal to present to future-eternal.  
Always was, am, and will always be. True eternity.

durin /doo-rin/  
 **Verb tense** , past-eternal to negative present.  
Always have been, but no more. The end of what was once thought deathless.


End file.
